Afferro said IMIC, an investment company that targets projects and businesses in the resources sector, had purchased about 1.1 million of its shares.

IMIC now holds 4.99 percent of Afferro’s issued capital.

Afferro, which unlike many of its peers in the region still owns 100 percent of its flagship assets, said on Dec. 6 that it was in talks with several parties that could result in a strategic investment.

It disclosed late December that it had received an initial approach from IMIC.

Afferro said earlier this month that it remained in active discussions with all parties from whom it received approaches, including India’s Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, which is looking to invest about $500 million in a thermal electricity plant and railway line in Cameroon.

Shares of the miner were down marginally at 84 pence in midday trading on Wednesday on the London Stock Exchange. They have gained about a third in value since the company revealed it was in talks with potential strategic investors.